.K28 
Copy 1 

KENTUCKY HISTORY 



BY 

CHAS. A. p;iTH 

HEAD OF HISTORY DEPART3IENT 
EASTERN KENTUCKY STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 



D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 



W'^M&'MmmW^mM 



A SUPPLEMENT ON KENTUCKY HISTORY ^ 
By Chas. a. Keith 

Head of History Department, Eastern Kentucky Slate Normal School 

Preliminary. — In fulness of history, Kentucky ranks with her 
parent state — Virginia — and with states Hke Massachusetts, 
New York, and Texas ; in productiveness of political and military 
leadership, she ranks with our first commonwealths; and in 
character and educative value, her record is almost unique. 
Like that of Tennessee, her history reads like a novel. The 
daring and chivalrous deeds of native sons furnish us names for 
many counties. There are crises in the life of the state that are 
thrilling as well as perplexing; and it is to her lasting honor that, 
though blundering occasionally, she emerged from them with 
discretion and credit. This supplement can present only the 
barest outline of facts. Its main purpose is to lead students to 
investigate her interesting annals. For further reading the follow- 
ing books are suggested: 

Publications that can be secured from the Filson Club, Louisville, espec- 
ially on the early history; Kinkead's History of Kentucky is well known; A 
Young People's History of Kentucky, by E. P. Thompson, contains some 
instructive condensed biographies; Kentucky: A Pioneer Commonwealth, by 
N. S. Shaler, is well written and is good on the Civil War; Marshall (1824 
edition) presents the history from a Federal view; Collins is rightly regarded 
as an authority; E. P. Johnson, A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians; 
Speed's Union Cause in Kentucky; Thwaites's Daniel Boone; Schurz's Henry 
Clay; and best of all, McElroy's Kentucky in the Nations History — a 
critical history, very well written, and containing a good bibhography. 

Kentucky history falls naturally into the following divisions: 
1 Cop>Tight, 1915, by D. C. Heath & Co. 



2 KENTUCKY HISTORY 

I. Pioneer Period of Discovery, Exploration, and Settlement: 

Discovery. — Since De Soto proceeded no farther north than 
Memphis, the region later to become Kentucky was not discovered 
until after 1650. The vain search for a river which would lead 
across to the Pacific brought the European discoverers to Ken- 
tucky. First among these was the Frenchman, La Salle, in 1669, 
who, lured on by Indian reports, descended the Allegheny and 
passed down the Ohio from the Big Sandy to the Falls (Louis- 
ville). Two years later a representative of England, Captain 
Batts, who probably entered eastern Kentucky, was sent out by 
Governor Berkeley of Virginia. 

Explorations. — After the mere discovery there was a lull of a 
half century; then there began another period of visits which 
served to arouse interest in the West and a desire to forestall the 
French in its occupation. Following up this desire, land com- 
panies were soon organized in Virginia : the Loyal Company in 
1749 sent out an expedition under Dr. Thomas Walker through 
Cumberland Gap to the Cumberland River near B arbours ville; 
but this expedition failed and the men returned. In 1750 the 
Ohio Company sent out an expedition under Christopher Gist, 
which explored extensively north of the Ohio and then descended 
the Ohio from the mouth of the Scioto to within fifteen miles of 
the Falls; here fear of Indians turned the men back to the 
Kentucky, up which they proceeded to the Yadkin and home. 
Reports of French encroachments given by Gist to Governor 
Dinwiddle, led to the dispatch of Washington and Gist to de- 
mand their withdrawal and opened the French and Indian War, 
by which France lost her footing in America. 

Nature and Name. — The Kentucky visited by these pioneers 
and described by Walker and Gist was of gorgeous beauty, re- 
markable fertility, and abundance of forest animals — a vast 
and lonely wilderness with no signs of former habitation save 
scattered mounds built either by highly civilized Indians or by 
an exterminated race of whites. It was uninhabited by Indians, 

©riA'5JM754 

FEB 17 1915 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 3 

except a few settlements along the Ohio and the Mississippi- but 
It was fully appreciated by them as hunting ground, and was 
claimed by the Iroquois on the north, the Shawnees on the west 
and the Cherokees on the south. From the fierce contests of 
Indian against Indian and Indian against white, struggling for 
possession, it was known as ''the Dark and Bloodv Ground" 
The word Kentucky itself is from the Iroquois Kentucke, meaning 
the "hunting grounds." ^ 

Other Explorers, Boone and the '* Long Hunters." - After the 
treaty of Paris in 1763, George HI issued a proclamation setting 
apart for the Indians all land between the Alleghany Mountains 
and the Mississippi, and therefore seeming to stop westward 
expansion; but Sir William Johnson, a surveyor, managed to 
open most of Kentucky to white settlers. This gave a new im- 
petus to exploration and brought in 1769 the first great Kentuck- 
lan, Daniel Boone, a robust and courageous backwoodsman, whose 
mission seems to have been found in pioneer leadership He 
yielded to George Rogers Clark when military leadership was re- 
quired. Boone came from the banks of the Yadkin in North Caro- 
hna, possibly in the interest of the Transylvania Company to 
engage in hunting with John Findlay and four other companions 
They first pitched camp on the Red River, a branch of the Ken- 
tucky; but, moving from place to place, Boone and John Stewart 
became separated from the others, who were kiUed. Boone and 
Stewart were captured by Indians, but escaped; and when their 
powder was nearly gone, Daniel's brother Squire arrived with 
one companion and ammunition. Later, Stewart was killed 
Squire's companion disappeared, and the two brothers were left 
in solitude. In May, 1770, Squire returned home for supplies 
and left Daniel, God's chosen founder of a commonwealth, to roam 
alone in ''sylvan pleasures." Squire reappeared and thev moved 
south to the Cumberland, then back to the Kentucky where they 
chose a site for settlement and left for home in March, 1771 
Contemporary with Boone, another party of fortv, led by' James 
Knox, entered through Cumberland Gap, erected camps in' Wayne, 
Barren, and Hart counties, and traded pelts to the Spaniards at 



4 KENTUCKY HISTORY 

Natchez. This class of pioneers was aptly named "the long 
hunters." 

Surveyors and Point Pleasant. — By treaty of Fort Stanwix 
in 1768, the EngHsh, through Sir William Johnson, purchased 
from the Six Nations of the Iroquois all land lying between the 
Ohio and the Tennessee rivers. This led to land grants and to 
the influx of a host of surveyors, like Hancock Taylor and John 
Floyd of Fincastle County, of which Kentucky was a part; Captain 
Thomas Bullett, surveying for Dr. Connolly at the Falls; John 
and Levi Todd; the three McAfee brothers, who selected a place 
for settlement on Salt River; Simon Kenton and James Harrod, 
who with forty men built cabins at Harrodsburg, but abandoned 
them before hostile Indians. 

Governor Dunmore of Virginia had already sent Boone and 
Michael Stoner to warn the surveyors of hostile Shawnees under 
Chief Cornstalk in league with the Miamis, Delawares, and Wyan- 
dots. Many frontiersmen were scalped; others joined General 
Andrew Lewis and one main division of the army near the mouth 
of the Great Kanawha. Here at Point Pleasant, Cornstalk 
fiercely attacked the whites before Governor Dunmore could 
arrive with the other division of the army, cut down Lewis's 
brother, Col. Charles Lewis, and Col. Fleming, and threatened 
to overwhelm the whites, but Lewis, ably assisted by Col. Isaac 
Shelby, ^executed a flank attack and drove the Indians back to the 
Scioto. At Camp Charlotte the Shawnees signed a treaty giving 
up Kentucky. 

Settlement. — Though some of the foregoing explorations were 
looking to eventual settlement, no real efforts were made until 
1773. On their return home the McAfee brothers met Boone and 
five other famiHes and forty pioneers coming to settle; but Indians 
attacked them, killed six, including Boone's son, and the others 
returned. In 1775, James Harrod returned to Harrodsburg, 
which became the first permanent settlement. The McAfees 
came back to Mercer County, and Benjaniin Logan established 
St. Asaph's or Logan's Station. The two great highways to 
Kentucky settlement were the Ohio River, which could be more 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 5 

safely navigated after the battle at Point Pleasant, and the 
"Wilderness Road," built by Boone for the Transyh^ania 
Company, from Cumberland Gap to Boonesborough. 

The Transylvania Company, under Col. Richard Henderson, 
purchased in 1775 at Wataga the title of the last Indian claimants, 
the Cherokees, and had already prepared for proprietary owner- 
ship and settlement. But the company was doomed, because 
proprietary colonies in America were obsolete, Kentucky pioneers 
were strong individualists, and the Cherokee sale was illegal, 
since Virginia's charter gave her this land. It had been bought 
from the Iroquois and conquered from the Shawnees, and the 
sale violated the King's proclamation of 1763. In April, 1775, 
Boone erected Kentucky's first defensive fortress at Boones- 
borough. Henderson soon followed, intending to establish a 
land office, and was alarmed when he met companies fleeing from 
renewed Indian attacks. A few returned with him to Boones- 
borough. Governor Dunmore now issued a proclamation denounc- 
ing the Transylvania claims; land disputes consequently arose, 
and to settle these, to prepare for defense, and to legislate for 
the settlements, Henderson called for twelve delegates represent- 
ing all the settlements; these met at Boonesborough in ;May, 
1775. In this first legislative assembly, Henderson attacked 
Governor Dunmore, exhibited his title to the land, and secured 
some legislation, without settling land disputes. The Transyl- 
vania Company next decided upon its land-grant policy, fixed 
the price of land, and sent James Hogg to request the Continental 
Congress to make Transylvania a separate colony. Congress 
referred him to the Virginia delegation — Thomas Jefferson and 
Patrick Henry; and, through Henry's influence, recognition of 
the company was denied, even after Hogg tried to bribe him into 
partnership. The independent settlers now sent to the Virginia 
legislature a statement of the evils and dangers of the company 
and asked to be taken under state protection. Under necessity 
of providing defense against the Indians, who had been hostile 
since the outbreak of the Revolution, and urged by George Rogers 
Clark, the Virginia Assembly virtually repudiated the company, 



6 KENTUCKY HISTORY 

in December, 1776, by dividing Fincastle County into Washing- 
ton, Montgomery, and Kentucky counties, the last to have about 
the bounds of the present state. This gave local government and 
representation, thereby extending Virginia's jurisdiction over her 
and taking jurisdiction from the company. Two years later 
Virginia invahdated the company, but granted the proprietors 
200,000 acres of land and legaHzed the titles of their purchasers. 
Thus Kentucky with her "wild magnificence" had attracted 
that staunch and sturdy stock of Scotch-Irish, numbering now 
nearly six hundred, to lay the foundation of the state. They were 
of pure blood, as they have remained; for immigrants usually 
stop short of Kentucky or pass far to the West. 

II. Kentucky during the Revolution : 
177^1783 

Clark. — George Rogers Clark was the Kentucky hero of the 
Revolution as the conqueror of the Northwest Territory. When 
the colonies revolted, the Indians, instigated by England, renewed 
their attacks. Clark, a native Virginian and famous in Dunmore's 
war, came to Kentucky in 1774 and was placed over her meager 
forces. He seemed to see more clearly than any one* else the 
importance of making Kentucky a buffer state between the In- 
dians and Virginia. He had secured a representative assembly 
at Harrodsburg, which had elected him as a delegate to present 
the case to Virginia. Arriving after the Assembly had adjourned, 
Clark interviewed Governor Patrick Henry, was presented to the 
Council, and at once requested a grant of ammunition. Upon 
their delaying action, a threat of Kentucky independence secured 
the grant. 

The old French forts — Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Vincennes, and 
Detroit — taken by the English in 1763, became strongholds from 
which Indian raids were encouraged. Against these Clark was 
eventually to proceed; but first he must secure the powder which 
had been shipped to Pittsburgh. He transported it, pursued by 
Indians, down the Ohio to the vicinity of Maysville, hid it, and 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 7 

started to Harrodsburg for help. He returned and routed the 
Indians and took the powder to Harrodsburg and distributed it. 
Incidentally Clark brought some twenty families down the Ohio, 
and they founded Louisvnlle. 

Indian Fighting. — Up to 1777, Indian fighting had been done 
by individuals or by small companies; but now Indian organiza- 
tion necessitated larger bands of whites. Col. Henry Hamilton, 
the cruel British commander of Detroit, incited the Indians to 
barbarous warfare and rewarded them according to the number 
of scalps they returned. Hamilton's plan was to capture all 
Kentucky, to give it back to the Indians, and to open Virginia to 
Indian raids. Harrodsburg was to be attacked first, but James 
Ray, alone surviving from a surveying party, warned the fort of 
the approach of Chief Blackfish. The attack was made, but the 
trick of firing a cabin failed to draw the whites out, and the Indians 
withdrew against Boonesborough, where they failed, and then 
against Logan's Fort, where they killed one man and wounded 
one. The Indians then settled to besiege the fort. When the 
siege was raised, Hamilton placed upon the dead body of a fallen 
American a proclamation offering pardon to all who would swear 
allegiance to the King and threatening vengeance to others. 
Hamilton's purpose failed, but he reduced the population of 
Kentucky to about two hundred. 

Clark was convinced that he must strike at the heart of the 
trouble and sent spies to the British forts. They reported that 
they could be taken, especially since the French of the ''Illinois 
Country" were friendly. Clark went again to Virginia to enlist 
state aid, which Henry and Jefferson encouraged, and the Council 
soon granted seven companies, with secret instructions to attack 
the forts. Jefferson also held out a hope of land rewards to Clark's 
followers. The good wishes of the nation were his. 

Boone and Boonesborough. — While Clark was enlisting men, 
Boone, who was making salt at Blue Licks, was captured and 
taken to Chillicothe, where he heard the Indians plan another 
attack on Boonesborough for June, 177S. Boone escaped and 
foretold the attack, which came in August under Duquesne 



8 KENTUCKY HISTORY 

and Blackfish, who demanded surrender. Boone refused; then 
Duquesne tried a cunning ruse of having two Indians shake hands 
with each white, while treating, in order to take them away by 
force. This failed, and a nine days' siege began. Undermining 
and burning were attempted and failed; and finally they left 
Boonesborough never to return. 

In May, 1778, Clark reached the Falls, got one company of 
Kentucky miUtia with Simon Kenton, and made known that 
Kaskaskia was their goal. On July 4, after a weary march, he 
reached Kaskaskia, and took it during the night. Clark next 
sent Captain Bowman to take Cahokia, which he did. These 
now became American strongholds, called Forts Clark and Bow- 
man, and were manned partly by Frenchmen who were apprised 
of our alliance with France. Kenton was dispatched with tidings 
to the Falls, by way of Vincennes, to investigate. He reported 
the garrison nearly all friendly Frenchmen, and that it would be 
easy to take. Clark sent Father Gibault as his agent, and the 
fort voluntarily surrendered. Clark began negotiations with the 
Indians; but when "the hair buyer" Hamilton heard of the fall 
of Vincennes, he prepared and retook it. The heroic Clark de- 
cided to take his 170 men for a winter march of 170 miles, through 
lands drowned in water breast deep. He arrived on February 24, 
1779; Hamilton surrendered to his bold summons, and Vincennes 
became Fort Patrick Henry. Clark's brilliant campaign secured 
to America the Northwest Territory, and to Kentucky more 
peaceful settlement; but left to England Detroit, Oswego, Macki- 
naw, and Niagara, from which they were to incite Indians until 
1796. 

In 1779, Lexington, named from the first battle of the Revolu- 
tion, was settled; and there followed a distressingly hard winter, 
brightened only by the beginning of a school at Boonesborough. 
A land office was established, and immigration vastly increased. 
To stop scattered Indian invasions, Clark, under the advice of 
Jefferson and Henry, had begun a fort at the mouth of the Ohio; 
but deserted it in the face of 600 Indians led by Colonel Byrd, 
who in June, 1780, captured Ruddle's and Martin's stations. 



KENTUCKY HISTORY g 

cmuref rh-,r'",f 'f ' ""■ ''"' ^'P^""^^' '"^ Clark followed, 
Indhn .^'^f <=°"^^' ''^^^^'^^^d f« and wide, and ended seriou 
Indian raids for two years. 

EstiU's Defeat. -The next coalition embraced the Shawnees 
Cherokees, and Wyandots north and west, backed by the British' 
Its purpose was to send pillaging expeditions in every direction 
and follow m full force. One of the Wyandot parties while 
passing Boonesborough, drew Col. James Estill from near Rich- 
mond into serious defeat near Mt. Sterling. The large force 
followed under Captains Caldwell and McKee and the renegade 
Simon Girty. It reached Bryan's Station in August, 178., and 
tried deception by advancing a small party; but the men quietly 
prepared for a siege, and the women heroically brought a supply 
of water. The besiegers feared reinforcements for the Kentuck 
lans, and prepared to depart; but Girty made a final effort to 
secure surrender by pretense of British aid and cannons. Aaron 
Reynolds boldly answered him, and the Indians retired torturing 
plundering, and burning. A council of war decided that Col 
John Todd should pursue, without waiting for Logan's reinforce- 
ments. The Indians were overtaken at the Licking River where 
Major McGary rashly jumped into the river and led the Ken- 
tuckians to a disastrous loss of seventy men, including their leader 
Col. Logan soon arrived with 400 men, and others gathered from 
Jefferson, Lincoln, and Fayette counties, into which Kentucky 
County had been divided. They avenged the tragedy by again 
invading the Miami country and destroying so extensively as to 
prevent further serious invasions of Kentucky. By this time 
news of Yorktown had arrived and preliminaries of peace were 
signed. After final peace, Indian raids continued to emanate 
from the Northwest forts of the English ; but in stopping formi- 
dable mvasions Clark had securely founded a commonwealth. 

III. Separation from Virgiuia and Admission: 

The tedious struggle for independence from \-irginia. involving 
the work of ten conventions, was the first great trial for 30,00^ 



lo KENTUCKY HISTORY 

inhabitants of the District of Kentucky, which had been formed 
in 1783. The mutual failure of America and England to fulfill 
their treaty brought trouble. England declined to surrender the 
forts on the refusal of some states to pay debts to her citizens; 
and the brutal massacres of whites by the Indians could not cease 
with England ready to incite them. Spain and France wanted 
to limit the western boundaries of the United States to the Alle- 
ghany Mountains and the Ohio River; but they were frustrated 
by Jay and Adams. Spain, which owned Florida, continued to 
claim the navigation of the Mississippi. Three countries, then, 
had their secret agents trying to detach the West. 

Wilkinson. — In 1784, there came to Lexington representing 
a Philadelphia mercantile company. Brigadier- General James 
Wilkinson, with courage, winning manners, and eloquence, but 
of questionable patriotism. Circumstances in the District, in- 
creased population, and isolation made a desire for independence 
natural. Danger of Indian invasion, which fortunately did not 
occur, furnished the basis of the demand. Col. Logan was warned 
that both the Cherokees and the Miamis were planning to attack. 
To meet the emergency, Logan called a meeting of military offi- 
cers in November, 1784, at Danville, which had been founded 
the year before. Here it developed that the helpless Congress 
had expressed itself for peace with the Indians, and the best it 
would do was to permit the Kentuckians to defend themselves. 
Since Kentucky was a part of Virginia, she could not defend her- 
self until attacked. The meeting, therefore, recommended the 
election of one delegate from each militia company to consider 
independence. 

The Independence Conventions. — Here begins a seemingly 
endless series of conventions strongly desiring independence, which 
neither Congress nor Virginia opposed, and which nevertheless 
could not be gained. The first convention met at Danville on 
December 27, 1784, and decided for strictly legal separation, 
petitioning Virginia and Congress. This system was followed 
by all the others. It requested the calling of a second convention 
in May, 1785, embodying the desi're for independence, for state- 



KENTUCKY HISTORY „ 

a'dirfo'r ;;":'.^:"-"''- - August, x;85, and an arden 
address to the District wruten by Wilkinson. Vague rumors 
were coming that Congress was considering abandoning the 
navigation of the Mississippi for twenty-five years. wZsln 
representing Fayette County in the third convention, prcureda 

S a"ndV >' \r" ^"''"''^' '"'''''^'y demanding sepat 
on and Judge Muter and Attorney Innis were elected to present 

act' SeVr? ;'^ ^rr''^ P^=^^^ "^^ «-' "-^'S 

SberTi t .^ ?"" ^^" "" f""""^ ~"^-^i- i" Sep 

tember, 1786, to see whether independence was the will of the 

people, and provided she would assume part of the state debt 

and not disturb land titles. If these terms were accep e t shtid 

fix a date prior to September z, 1787, for Virginia's au hority o 

enabling act - conditions fair enough for all except extremists- 
but the red tape involved gave Wilkinson in his campaign S 

let, t Tf'" ' ^'^^"^'^ '° "S^ '"""^diate sepafation 
legal or megal. Humphrey MarshaU was his opponent; and her^ 

originated the Court and Country parties. 

fh.^ w"K*t ^""^f "' "'"'' aggressive, and Clark was sent against 
he Wabash tribes, and Logan against the Sha^vnees. £ogan 
succeeded; but the renowned Clark, deserted by his men, failed 
So many of the members-elect of the fourth convention were 
volunteers that there was no quorum; but in January, 1787 a 
quorum came together and Virginia was asked to alter her condi- 

Teli " ?l'' J"^'" ''^^^■^^" P^^-"''"g *e petition. 

Virginia answered by passing the second "enabling act,'' fixing 
January i, 1789, for separation and prior to Julv 4, 1789, for the 
acceptance by Congress. Antipathy aroused toward Virginia 
was increased by Wilkinson, by Virginia's order for judicial pro- 
ceedings against Logan's brother for attacking some Tennessee 
Indians at peace with the nation, and by the official censure of 
Uark and Logan. But still a solid majority stood for law 

The Spanish Conspiracy. - Spain once had tl,e best chance 
to own the American continent. She still had hopes of usina the 
navigation of the Mississippi as a lever to force from us the lion'I 



12 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 



share. In 1787 news came from Pittsburgh that Secretary of 
State John Jay, underrating the West, had advised Congress to 
give up Mississippi navigation for twenty-five years for commer- 
cial advantages from Spain to the North. The seven Northern 
states voted for it, the six Southern ones against it, nine states 
being required to pass it. Jay, however, made the proposition 
to Don Gardoqui, the Spanish minister; and the result in Ken- 
tucky was hatred of Jay and distrust of Congress, since Kentucky's 
future hinged on this navigation. A circular letter from Brown, 
Innis, Muter, and Sebastian called for a convention against it; 
but excitement passed with the action of Congress and the con- 
vention adjourned. 

The fifth independence convention met in September, 1787, 
and John Brown was sent as delegate to Congress with a petition 
that December 31, 1788, should be the separation date; but the 
petition was delayed until February, 1788, and got httle attention 
because of the fight for adoption of the new Constitution for the 
United States, which Kentucky very much opposed. The old 
Congress eventually refused it consideration; and this again made 
Virginia's terms impossible. Wilkinson did not meet this con- 
vention. Freighted with tobacco and wishing to replenish his 
treasury and prove the benefit of Spanish trade concessions, he 
went to New Orleans, interviewed Governor Miro, sold his goods 
at immense profit, and returned in a stately coach, with private 
trading privileges, but with a reputation for having attempted to 
barter away Kentucky to Spain for the gratification of his own 
greed. 

The sixth convention met in July, 1788, to form the state con- 
stitution; but at this time came Brown's report, entirely blaming 
Congress, and Brown, together with Innis and Sebastian, joined 
the Courl^ party, deep in intrigue with Gardoqui to transfer Ken- 
tucky to Spain. The convention passed a resolution providing 
for the seventh convention for November, 1788, and adjourned. 
In the elections the tension was strong, and George Muter exer- 
cised a profound influence for the moderate Country party, forcing 
Wilkinson to withdraw some of his pro-Spanish views and agree 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 13 

to represent the voters. As the strength of the parties was almost 
equal in the convention, Wilkinson urged Spain's offers, openly 
advocated separation from the Union, and strongly hinted at 
annexation to Spain. The turn came when the convention, 
distrustful of Congress, showed that it was wholly loyal to the 
Union. 

The English Conspiracy. — The Virginia Assembly passed a 
third "enabling act," providing for an eighth convention for 
July, 1789, to accept the act and then call a constitutional con- 
vention. The pioneer John Connolly appeared, ostensibly to 
look after his land at Louisville, but really to induce Kentucky 
to join England. His reception was cold, and he dropped the 
scheme. The eighth convention objected to the land restrictions 
of the third "enabling act," and the Assembly passed a fourth 
"enabling act," dropping them. The ninth convention met in 
July, 1790, accepted terms, fixed June i, 1792, for separation, 
and called a tenth convention to write the constitution. On 
February 4, 1791, Congress, after a cordial promise of protection 
from Indians, passed her "enabHng act"; and thus Kentucky, 
marked off by nature from Virginia, was next year admitted into 
the Union with a population of 75,000. Col. Isaac Shelby, of 
King's Mountain renown, was elected governor — an excellent 
choice. Universal suffrage and representation according to popu- 
lation existed. 

IV. The State's Crucial Period : 
iyg2-i8i2 

Indians Again. — Jay made his proposition to Congress about 
1786. Bands of Indians, backed by the British, still ravaged 
and beset the Ohio and the Wilderness Road. In 1790, the Fed- 
eral Government, carrying out its promise of protection, put 
General Harmar in command of 320 regulars and 11 00 Kentucky 
volunteers; but, through bad generalship, he was completely 
defeated on the Maumee by Little Turtle and the Miamis. Ken- 
tuckians petitioned Secretary of War Knox to entrust their defense 
to no more regulars and were answered by permission to appoint 



14 KENTUCKY HISTORY 

a local board of war. General Scott was at its head, and Shelby, 
Innis, Logan, and Brown were members. These, with the com- 
mander of the regulars, had power over the militia for defense 
and offense. Knox next appointed General St. Clair commander 
of the regulars, an appointment so unpopular that Kentuckians 
refused to volunteer and had to be drafted. An independent 
expedition against the Wabash under Scott and Wilkinson had 
been very successful. St. Clair reached a branch of the Wabash; 
but nearly all the militia had deserted, and the result was another 
disaster to dishearten the Americans and embolden the Indians. 
''Mad Anthony" Wayne succeeded St. Clair in the Northwest in 
1793, with 1600 volunteers, and was joined by 1000 miHtia drafted 
by Governor Shelby and placed under Scott. In August, 1794, 
at Fallen Timbers on the Maumee, under the shadow of a British 
fort which had supplied the Indians, Wayne, by excellent strategy, 
won an overwhelming victory which caused better feeling upon 
the part of the Kentuckians toward the nation, and brought peace 
with the Indians till the eve of the War of 181 2. 

Genet. — In 1793 England and France had gone to war; and 
in America, especially in Kentucky, which was strongly anti- 
Federal from the first, popular sympathy was with France, our 
ally, and against England, the ally of the Indians. Washington 
wisely proclaimed neutrality; but "Citizen" Genet, who had 
just arrived at Charleston from France to enlist seamen, learned 
that four causes — failure to secure Mississippi navigation, the 
Federal excise tax, failure of protection from Indians, and Jay's 
ministry to England — made Kentucky distrustful of the Federal 
Government. He sent four agents, chief of whom were Lachaise 
and Depeau, to Kentucky to enHst 2000 men by promises of land, 
and to take New Orleans for France. Clark was secured as 
commander and Jefferson seems to have encouraged the plan. 
Washington wrote to Governor Shelby strongly urging suppression 
of the expedition at all costs ; but Shelby showed sympathy for it 
by pretending ignorance of it and saying that he was powerless 
to stop it until it was under way. Genet was fortunately recalled 
by France, and this crisis passed. 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 15 

Treaties with England and Spain. — The year 1795 was a 
turning point in Kentucky's history. The hated Chief Justice 
Jay signed a wise treaty with England, securing the surrender of 
the Northwest forts. It was, nevertheless, unpopular with Ken- 
tuckians, who had hoped to fight England. The same year, 
Thomas Pinckney formed a treaty with Spain which secured 
free navigation of the Mississippi and a port of deposit in New 
Orleans. Pending this treaty, another conspiracy was entered 
to disjoin Kentucky from the Union. Making use of Kentucky's 
commercial interests, Carondelet, the Spanish governor of Louisi- 
ana, sent Thomas Power to Judge Sebastian to arrange for him 
a conference with Gayoso; but news of the treaty broke off the 
negotiations, which were again renewed in 1797. Sebastian was 
paid $100,000 and an annual pension of $2,000 until 1806. Wilkin- 
son, now general at Detroit, was tempted; but he received Power 
coldly. Kentucky proved stronger for liberty than for temporary 
gain. 

The Kentucky Resolutions. — In 1796, John Adams was elected 
President and James Garrard the second governor of Kentucky. 
Adams was a Federalist; and the fast-growing Democratic-Re- 
publican party, led by the able Jefferson, was making his position 
difficult. The Federalists had but to blunder to be ruined, and 
the blunder soon came. France was deeply offended at Jay's 
treaty with England, our ministers to France had been grossly 
mistreated. Frenchmen in America might repeat the Genet affair, 
and Democratic writers were abusing the Federalists. To stop 
these, the Federalists raised the naturalization requirement to 
fourteen years; the Alien Act gave the President power of im- 
prisonment or expulsion of treasonable aliens; the Sedition Act 
forbade, under penalty of fine and imprisonment, any person 
doing, saying, or writing anything derogatory to Federal officials. 
Jefferson contended that these laws were a clear violation of the 
Constitution, moving toward monarchy, and the opinion was 
pretty generally shared. Governor Garrard fiercely denounced 
them and Kentucky supported him. Young Henry Clay, just 
arrived in Lexington, made his first Kentucky speech against 



i6 KENTUCKY HISTORY 

them. Jefferson seized this opportunity, drafted the Kentucky 
Resolutions, and entrusted them to John C. Breckinridge to 
submit to the Kentucky legislature. They passed and the gov- 
ernor approved them November ii, 1798. Their substance is 
that the Union is a compact of sovereign states, and that when 
Congress passes laws destructive of the Union or limiting the 
liberties of any state, it is the right and duty of that state to 
declare them unconstitutional and demand their repeal; but not 
that a single state may nullify them. The controversy brought 
Jefferson to power in 1800 and initiated the doctrine of States' 
Rights, which some of the states both North and South made 
use of later, — although all except Virginia refused to concur at 
this time. 

Louisiana Purchase, 1803. — In 1799, a new and more demo- 
cratic constitution was written for Kentucky. In 1801, Jefferson 
became President; and Louisiana passed back to France by 
secret treaty. Two years later Morales, the Spanish governor 
still in charge, suspended our right of merchandise deposit in New 
Orleans. James Monroe was sent to France to treat for a deposit 
base. Napoleon, who had broken the truce of Amiens and re- 
entered war with England, proposed to sell all Louisiana for 
$15,000,000; and Jefferson wisely deserted his "strict construc- 
tion" doctrine and made the purchase. Kentuckians were over- 
whelmed with joy. 

Burr's Conspiracy, 1806. — The navigation question, the 
nucleus of so many dark conspiracies, was at this time forever 
settled, but not without another plot. Aaron Burr had been 
beaten for the presidency, and Hamilton had kept him from the 
governorship of New York — for which Burr had killed him in a 
duel. Deserted by anti-Federalists and detested by Federalists 
he came to Kentucky, passed on to New Orleans and back. The 
other conspirators were Wilkinson, at St. Louis, and Blenner- 
hassett, a wealthy Irishman, on an island in the Ohio. The 
scheme was to capture an indefinite amount of Spanish territory 
on the Gulf, as much as could be taken west of the AUeghanies, 
make New Orleans the capital, Burr a pseudo-Napoleon, and the 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 17 

other conspirators officers. Doubtless Burr was guilty, for ex- 
tensive preparations were discovered; but he was prosecuted by 
a Federalist attorney, Daveiss, and defended by Clay, which, 
together with his popularity, secured his acquittal. 



V. Kentucky in War : 181 2- 18 ij 

Tecumseh and the Prophet. — In 1S09, General Charles Scott 
succeeded Governor Greenup in Kentucky, and James Madison 
became President. In 181 1, the Wabash Indians, goaded on 
again by the British, formed an extensive league and made a 
determined stand; but General Harrison, ably assisted by Ken- 
tuckians, dealt them a decisive blow at Tippecanoe. England's 
encouragement of the Indians, her robbery of our vessels at sea, 
and her impressment of our seamen were fast leading us into 
another war with her. 

Kentucky's Part. — If ever it could be said that a single man 
caused a war, it could probably be said that Clay in Congress 
caused that of 181 2, and he laid the plans to capture Canada and 
stop the Indians. If ever it could be said that a single state won 
a war, that state was Kentucky in the War of 181 2. Smoldering 
hatred of England was long-standing; and Kentucky's volunteers 
nearly doubled the number called for all through the struggle. 

Detroit, Frenchtown, and River Raisin. — Before Kentuckians 
could reach the scene of action, news came of the disgraceful 
surrender of Hull at Detroit, involving the loss of all the Michigan 
Territory and opening the way for renewed Indian attacks. Gov- 
ernor Scott at once appointed William Henry Harrison, who was 
governor of Indiana Territory, as major-general of the Kentucky 
mihtia. President Madison also appointed him major-general in 
the regular army to operate in the Northwest, and he began 
rapidly to regain lost ground. He first raised the siege of Ft. 
Wayne on the IVIaumee, and ravaged the Indian country nearby. 
By January i, 1813, General Winchester was at the rapids of the 
Maumee with 1,500 men and Harrison was at Fort Sandusky with 
2,500, To Winchester came the report that less than forty miles 



i8 KENTUCKY HISTORY 

away at Frenchtown, on the river Raisin, were established about 
i,ooo Canadians and Indians, About 700 Kentucky militiamen 
were detached under Colonel Lewis to take Frenchtown, which 
they promptly did on January 18. General Winchester hastened 
thither; and, by an absolute lack of military strategy, he allowed 
Proctor to bring 2,000 British and Indians from Maiden and crush 
him, on January 22. In spite of heroic effort, the whole force was 
compelled to surrender. The prisoners were taken to Maiden, 
while^the wounded were left practically unguarded at Frenchtown; 
and drunken Indians made ''River Raisin" memorable by shoot- 
ing and scalping or burning the last one of them. 

Fort Meigs, Lake Erie, Thames, and New Orleans. — General 
Shelby, again governor, burning for revenge, called for more 
volunteers and got a liberal response. At the mouth of the Mau- 
mee General Harrison had constructed Fort Meigs, which was 
now besieged. A detachment from the command of General 
Green Clay, under Colonel Dudley, was ordered to cross the river 
to the north side and silence the British batteries, and it suc- 
ceeded; but misunderstanding the orders, it pursued too far, 
was captured and horribly massacred. The Kentuckians under 
Clay forced the raising of the siege of Fort Meigs. Governor 
Shelby now took the field in person, and reached General Harrison 
just when Perry's well-known victory which opened up Lake 
Erie had been achieved. Perry was ably assisted by 150 Ken- 
tucky volunteers who engaged in the thrilling short-range duel. 
Haxrison quickly embarked his army upon Lake Erie, and, heed- 
ing Shelby's advice, hurriedly pursued Proctor, overtaking him 
on the river Thames, where a force made up almost exclusively 
of Kentuckians won the decisive battle, killed Tecumseh, and 
ended the war in the Northwest. Kentuckians, constituting 
about a fifth of Jackson's force at New Orleans and gallantly 
fighting in the center, also played a decisive part in that memo- 
rable but useless battle. 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 19 

VI. Political and Financial History and Panic : 
1815-1837 

Financial Facts. — In 1806 was chartered the state's first real 
bank, the Bank of Kentucky, with vSi, 000,000 capital. This 
was at first a sound institution, and not even the destruction of 
commerce or the national debt caused by the War of 181 2 meant 
very serious distress in Kentucky. In 1816, at Governor Madi- 
son's death, Gabriel Slaughter, the lieutenant-governor, after a 
sharp contest, became governor. His administration is marked 
by the Federal purchase from the Chickasaws, through com- 
missioners Shelby and Andrew Jackson, of the territory between 
the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers, known as the Jackson Pur- 
chase (18 1 8). This period was also marked by financial disaster. 
Any distrust of banks that might formerly have existed seems to 
have been discarded by the legislature of 181 7-18 18, which chartered 
forty-six banks to meet the new commercial demands arising 
from steamship transportation, from factories, and from our 
control of the Mississippi. Their fatal feature was that the banks 
were not forced to redeem their notes in specie, but could redeem 
them in notes of the Bank of Kentucky. The natural result was 
the overissue of paper currency, wild speculation, depreciation 
of the notes, and ruin. The National Bank itself helped on the 
failure of the Bank of Kentucky. The legislature of 1819-1S20 
repealed these bank charters. 

Relief and Anti-Relief Parties. — These two parties were the 
outgrowth of the consequent suffering. They were bitterly 
arrayed against each other in 1820, when the Relief party elected 
General John Adair governor, and most of their other candidates. 
Legislative relief was at once attempted, first by chartering the 
Bank of the Commonwealth (again with fatal lack of necessary 
specie redemption), and secondly, when these notes had greatly 
depreciated and creditors refused them in payment, the legis- 
lature provided the debtor with a two years' replevin; that is, 
the creditor had to accept the paper money or get nothing for 
two years. Test cases soon got into the circuit courts of the 



20 KENTUCKY HISTORY 

state, where the replevin law was declared unconstitutional; and, 
upon appeal in 1823 to the Court of Appeals, it upheld their deci- 
sions. But the voters of 1824 again stood by the Relief party, 
against the just decision of the courts, and elected Joseph Desha 
governor and most of the legislature. This legislature first at- 
tempted to remove the judges of the Court of Appeals, and upon 
failure, they passed an act to repeal the act creating it and organ- 
ized a New Court of Appeals. But the old court continued, and 
the respective adherents came to be called New Court and Old 
Court parties. By 1826 the Old Court (Anti-ReHef) party had 
prevailed and the New Court was abolished. 

Panic of 1837. — In 1824, Henry Clay, who had already risen 
to national renown as champion of the Missouri Compromise, 
was one of the four candidates for President. When the election 
devolved upon the House, Clay temporarily lost favor in Ken- 
tucky by electing J. Q. Adams over Jackson, who was the popular 
choice. In 1825, the aged hero LaFayette was most enthusiasti- 
cally received as a visitor of Kentucky. In 1828, the Clay- Adams 
party came to be known as the National Republicans, and in the 
same year the Jacksonian party became the Democrats; and 
Kentuckians quietly ranged themselves with one of the two, with 
their weight slightly in favor of the Democrats at first, but soon 
with the National Republicans who held sway till the Civil War. 
In 1832, Jackson vetoed the bill for the recharter of the National 
Bank; and there was passed a new tariff law. South Carolina 
declared for single-state nullification, and Clay compromised the 
matter. In short, in statesmanship, education, science, and art 
it was a great day for Kentucky. But the thing of outstanding 
importance centers around the financial problem. As early as 
the catastrophe of 181 7 Kentucky, as well as the nation, had 
adopted the policy of internal improvements. Roads, turnpikes, 
river improvements, and later railroads were begun on an exten- 
sive scale in state and nation; and these not being completed so 
as to bring returns before the plentiful paper money issued by 
"pet banks" had hopelessly depreciated, one of the greatest 
financial shocks that we have ever sustained struck state and 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 



21 



nation alike in 1837; and we did not recover from it before 
1845. 

VII. Texas, Mexico, and the War : 
1837-1848 

Kentucky and Texas. — By 1834, the National Republican 
party had become more consolidated under Clay's influence and 
had changed its name to the Whigs. Clay and his party had also 
regained influence in Kentucky, as is shown by the regular election 
of a Whig governor — James Clark in 1836, Robert P. Letcher in 
1840, Judge William Owsley in 1844, and J. J. Crittenden in 1848. 
But again local politics must be passed over for Kentucky's part 
in the greater struggle for Texas. The purchase of Louisiana 
gave us a claim to Texas, but at the Florida Purchase of 18 19 
we gave up the claim to Spain, much against Clay's will; and in 
182 1, when Mexico, taking advantage of Spain's troubles at home, 
in the same manner as did Central and South American republics, 
won her independence from Spain, Texas became a Mexican 
province. Mexico adopted the policy of keeping it uninhabited; 
but very soon large numbers of Americans from the slave-holding 
states, with liberal contingents of Kentuckians and Tennesseeans, 
began to take advantage of national land grants, given especially 
under Jackson, and poured into Texas. Mexico's repressive 
measures soon stirred these new Texans to revolt; and, after a 
few disasters of the type of the Alamo, the Texans, aided by 
volunteers from many states, and especially from Tennessee and 
Kentucky, struck the decisive blow at San Jacinto and gained 
their independence. 

Annexation of Texas and the Mexican War. — The new slave- 
holding republic at once sought admission into our Union; but 
there was a strong anti-slavery opposition in our country and the 
question did not come to a head until the "Polk and Texas, Clay 
and no Texas" campaign of 1844. Polk was elected, and even 
before his inauguration Tyler approved the annexation bill. Not- 
withstanding the fact that Kentucky had from the first been a 
slave-holding state. Clay had opposed the annexation of Texas 



22 KENTUCKY HISTORY 

because it would mean an extension of slave-holding territory. 
This was the unpopular attitude in Kentucky and one that was 
shared by very few public men; but one man, Cassius M. Clay, 
who at Yale had fallen under the influence of William Lloyd 
Garrison, boldly took an even stronger stand — for abolition. 
Henry Clay had also argued that the annexation of Texas meant 
the annexation of a war with her enemy, Mexico; and his prophecy 
at once came true when Texas requested help from the President. 
Congress declared war in 1846, and the President called for 43,500 
volunteers. Kentucky had supported Clay against the annexa- 
tion; but the war spirit was easily stirred and it was increased 
to enthusiasm when the President appointed three Kentuckians 
to prominent positions in the army — Zachary Taylor major- 
general of the regulars, and William O. Butler major-general and 
Thomas Marshall brigadier-general of volunteers. At Governor 
Owsley's call, therefore, more than a fifth of all the volunteers 
requested from the states came from Kentucky, along with num- 
bers of able officers who were here trained for the Civil War. 

Kentucky's part in the fighting began at Monterey in Septem- 
ber, 1846, and we are not surprised that the Kentuckians '^ dis- 
played obedience, patience, discipline, and courage." One fifth 
of the Americans at Buena Vista, February 23, 1847, were Ken- 
tuckians; and again they courageously assisted in decisively 
defeating almost five times their number — the turning point of 
the war. Victory came, however, at the expense to Kentucky 
of many brave soldiers and of Colonel McKee and Lieutenant- 
Colonel Clay, son of Henry. A few Kentuckians also did valiant 
service for General Scott in his Vera Cruz-Mexico City campaign. 
The funeral ceremony held at Frankfort for the Kentucky officers 
who fell at Buena Vista was a solemn affair; and later the unveil- 
ing of their monument, attended by a vast throng, furnished the 
theme of the native Kentuckian Theodore O'Hara's touching 
verse, ''The Bivouac of the Dead." 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 23 

VIII. Clay and Slavery in State and Nation : 
184S-1860 

Slavery Overshadows AU. — In 1849, Kentucky's third consti- 
tution was written, its most important change being a provision for 
the election of judges. It is noteworthy that it also provided for 
the retention of slaves, of whom there were in Kentucky more 
than 200,000, or nearly a fourth of the population. In 1849, also, 
an emancipation convention met in Frankfort, but resulted in 
nothing. The American Colonization Society had been in exist- 
ence for a half century, and Clay, the champion of gradual eman- 
cipation, had long been its president; but it had succeeded only 
in founding, by colonization, the negro republic of Liberia, West 
Africa. There had been landmarks in slavery history before; 
but by 1848 the abolitionists of the North and Cassius M. Clay's 
abolition doctrine in his True American in Kentucky were driving 
people to take a stand on one side or the other; and Kentucky 
herself was becoming strongly pro-slavery. Slavery, in short, 
had begun to dominate American politics; and the result is seen 
in the break-up of the Whigs and a shake-up in the Democratic 
party. The Northern Whigs and some Northern Democrats 
went, in 1854, into the new Republican party, organized expressly 
to prevent further extension of slavery, while the Democrats came 
to be more consohdated in the South and absorbed a number of 
pro-slavery Whigs. Parties came to be much more sectional; 
and slavery was the nucleus around which all the differences of 
North against South, such as views on the tariff and interpreta- 
tion of the Federal constitution, clustered. Results of these 
changes are seen in the election of the Democratic candidate, 
Lazarus W. Powell, governor, in 185 1, and Franklin Pierce, Demo- 
crat, President, the next year. 

With the later stages of slavery we are not here concerned; but 
it must be remembered that Kentucky was for slavery, yet strongly 
for Union, and, while she accepted the results of the Civil War, 
she did not believe in the manner of Federal emancipation of 
slaves. She was, therefore, one of the last states in the Union 



24 KEXTUCKY HISTORY 

to give up her slaves, opposing successively Lincoln's Emanci- 
pation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment which freed 
the slave, the Fourteenth which made him a citizen, and the Fif- 
teenth which gave him the franchise. 

Clay and the Omnibus Bill. — In 1848, gold had been discov- 
ered in California, and the vast region just acquired from Mexico 
began to be settled. California miners were whites. When she 
reached, therefore, the required number of people for admission, 
she naturally sought admission as a free state. But it was a life 
and death struggle for the South, and she bitterly opposed Cali- 
fornia's admission as a free state. ''The Great Commoner" now 
became ''The Great Pacificator" by coming forward for a third 
time with a compromise which at least delayed bloodshed. Every 
important clause of the Compromise of 1850 had to do in some 
way with slavery. The most important provisions were: Cali- 
fornia was to be admitted free; the doctrine of popular or "squat- 
ter" sovereignty was to be appUed to Xew Mexico and Utah; 
the slave trade (not slavery) was to be abolished in the District 
of Columbia; and a more stringent fugitive slave law (than the 
one of 1793) was to be passed. Violations of this last clause by 
Northern states, through the "underground railways" by which 
they helped slaves to escape into Canada and "personal 
liberty laws" which sixteen of them passed, were very similar 
to nullification of laws of Congress and they hurried on the 
war. 

The passage of these measures was the last great work of the 
most illustrious Kentuckian, who died in 1852 with his great 
compeers, Calhoun and Webster. He had a public career which 
wiQ compare favorably with that of any .\merican. He had been 
a distinguished orator and lawyer. United States Senator, repeat- 
edly foreign ambassador, author of the "American System" 
(of tariff), of the gradual emancipation doctrine, and of three 
great compromises. Thrice a candidate for President, he failed 
of election only because he held unfortunate \'iews and was too 
honest to desert them. He left in Kentucky many strong men, 
two of the ablest being J. C. Breckinridge, who was elected Vice- 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 25 

President in 1856, and J. J. Crittenden, successor to Clay's prin- 
ciples, soon in the United States Senate. 



EX. Our State's Part in the Civil War: 
1861-1865 

A Divided State and Nation. — Our most awful tragedy was 
now to pass over state and nation for four years. In the nation 
it was mainly a sectional division, but in Kentucky the division 
was all-inclusive — executive against legislative, the legislature 
itself divided, thirty able generals in the opposing armies, soldiers 
on each side, even famihes separated in opinion — all was division. 
The two great sectional leaders, Lincoln and Davis, were native 
Kentuckians. After a term's supremacy of the Know-Nothing 
party, under Charles S. Morehead, the Democratic party again 
came into power in 1859, by the election of a majority in the legis- 
lature and Beriah Magofl&n, governor. The old Whig party had 
first drifted into the "Opposition" and later, though somewhat 
divided, had become the Union party. 

Kentucky for Union. — Abraham Lincoln was the leader of the 
Republican party, which arose to prevent the extension of slavery. 
His election, therefore, in i860 was the occasion for secession of 
eleven Southern states. Crittenden in the United States Senate 
had offered a series of Amendments in the interest of peace, but 
they were rejected. Early in 1861, the Border States had pro- 
posed essentially the same plan, known as the Crittenden Com- 
promise, but again they failed. On January 17, 1861, Governor 
Magoffin called a special session of the legislature and recom- 
mended calling a convention to decide the state's course; mean- 
while he urged the state to arm. But a convention might mean 
secession, and the Union party, strongly led by Crittenden, exerted 
a powerful influence and prevented the convention. After a 
peace conference of representatives from twenty-one states at 
Washington, the legislature, which had heard both sides of the 
question argued by Crittenden and Breckinridge, declared against 
a convention; and its decision was approved by a clear majority 



26 KENTUCKY HISTORY 

of the people. When Fort Sumter fell in April, 1861, and Lincoln 
called upon Kentucky for volunteers, Magoffin emphatically and 
defiantly refused; and he soon refused also the call from the Con- 
federacy. Many State Rights men or Democrats were urging 
secession, while some radical Union men were urging war; but the 
legislature at another called session, in May, 1861, adopted what 
was essentially Crittenden's plan of armed mediating neutrality, 
and Governor Magoffin issued a proclamation to that effect. 
This was supported at the June election to Congress and the 
August election to the General Assembly by the election of over- 
whelming majorities of Union men. 

Neutrality Broken : First Invasion. — But government edicts 
cannot always control the wills of private individuals. In Ohio 
and Indiana, Federal Camps Clay and Joe Holt, opposite Newport 
and LouisviUe, respectively, had been estabhshed; and just across 
the southern border in Tennessee appeared Confederate Camp 
Boone, near Clarksville, Camp Burnett, and others. Soon there 
were recruiting camps within the borders, in Garrard County, 
Camp Dick Robinson for Federals, and in Owen County, General 
Marshall recruited Confederates. There was no way to prevent 
thousands of the best men of Kentucky from enrolling where 
sympathy led them. The Confederates thought neutrality had 
already been broken, and on September 3, General Polk occupied 
Columbus and General ZoUicoffer invaded by way of Cumberland 
Gap. General Grant at once occupied Paducah for the Federals. 
The legislature raised the Federal flag over the capitol and passed 
resolutions demanding the withdrawal of Confederates. Gov- 
ernor Magoffin vetoed them and they were promptly passed over 
his veto. Neutrality was soon entirely abandoned; and the next 
year Governor Magoffin, out of accord with the legislature, gra- 
ciously resigned. During the first invasion. Bowling Green under 
General A. S. Johnston was Confederate headquarters. The chief 
state battles were Wild Cat Mountain, near London, Ivy Moun- 
tain, Middle Creek, and Mill Springs; and just across in Ten- 
nessee the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson to Grant forced 
the Confederates to evacuate Kentucky. 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 27 

The Second Confederate Invasion. —At Shiloh, Vicksburg, 
and almost every other great battle the bravest of Kentuckians 
were sacrificed, probably 100,000 taking service with the Union 
army and 40,000 with the Confederates. In July, 1862, General 
Morgan's daring cavalry raids from Lexington presaged the 
second invasion; and General E. K. Smith entered Kentucky 
through Big Creek Gap, fought the successful battle of Richmond, 
and joined Morgan at Lexington. But the important campaign 
was the mad race of Bragg from Chattanooga and Buell from near 
Nashville for Louisville, Buell winning the race and turning to 
engage Bragg in the important Federal victory at Perryville. 
Bragg retreated, picked up General Smith at Harrodsburg, and 
left the state; and henceforth Kentucky was disturbed only by 
raiders. Prospects of Confederate victory at about this time, 
together with Lincoln's unpopular emancipation project, enlist- 
ment of negro soldiers, oppressive military governors, interfering 
with civil law, together with Federal devastating raids had caused 
a new wave of Confederate enthusiasm; but Kentucky managed 
to stand ofiicially by the Union until the welcome end in April 
1865. 

X. Since the Civil War : 
i865-igi5 

Readjustments. — When peace was returned, the Conservative 
Unionists, who were still in control of the legislature, at once 
repealed all laws hostile to Confederates, and Governor Bramlette 
issued a general pardon. Finances had been ably handled and 
Kentucky felt less distress than most other states. In November, 
1866, nine Democratic congressmen were elected; and in the 
August elections, in 1867, the state showed its disapproval of the 
national administration's measures by electing the Liberal Union 
or Democratic ticket, with J. L. Helm governor, by a vast major- 
ity over candidates of the Radical Union (Republican) and Con- 
servative Union parties. The Conservative Union party merged 
mainly with the Democrats and the ex-Confederate soldiers 
returned to the franchise, putting this party in supremacy until 



28 KENTUCKY HISTORY 

1895. The Freedmen's Bureau of 1865 was unpopular in Ken- 
tucky; and by 1870 the negro was an enfranchised citizen. The 
Ku Klux IQan, at first a respectable organization which sought 
to prevent excesses of the Freedmen's Bureau and of Carpet-bag 
government, soon degraded into committing all kinds of horrible 
acts leaving lingering evils; but Governor Leslie soon secured its 
suppression. 

Panic and the Awakening. — In 1873, there came the severest 
panic in all our history, but again Kentucky escaped as lightly 
as could have been hoped. In the same year there was established 
a State Geological Survey, with Prof. N. S. Shaler of Harvard at 
its head. It lasted until 1892, and under his able direction, the 
vast mineral wealth of Kentucky began to be disclosed. In 
1 87 5-1 876 the legislature supplemented this work by creating an 
Agriculture, Horticulture, and Statistics Bureau. In addition 
common schools, technical schools, and colleges were beginning 
to spring up and grow all over the state. In 1875 began the long 
and honorable career of James B. McCreary by his election as 
governor. Four years later, L. P. Blackburn, whose adminis- 
tration was marked by his worthy prison reforms and by the 
creation of the Superior Court which assisted the Court of Appeals 
until 1890, was elected. In 1883, J. P. Knott became governor. 
In 1884, Colonel Reuben T. Durrett secured the organization of 
the very important Filson Club for the collection of historical 
material. The Democratic sway was continued in 1887 by the 
election of General Simon B. Buckner as governor. At the same 
time a vote for a new constitutional convention was secured. 
This convention met in 1890 and gave us the present constitution 
of Kentucky. In 1891 Governor Brown was elected. In 1892, 
Louisville celebrated the hundredth anniversary of Kentucky's 
statehood; and the next year another panic swept the country. 

The Upheaval of 1895 and the Goebel Tragedy. — Democracy 
in state and nation had declared for a gold standard; but P. Wat 
Hardin, the gubernatorial nominee, bolted the platform and 
advocated free silver. Gold Democrats absented themselves 
from the polls, and William O. Bradley, Kentucky's first Repub- 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 29 

lican governor, received a handsome majority. He was an able 
man and secured good order by a free use of the miUtia against 
toll-gate raiders and lynchers. Most of the turnpikes were pur- 
chased by the state or counties by the end of the century. There 
was a general rise of public sentiment against the control of politics 
by corporations such as railways, tobacco and liquor dealers. 
William Goebel, able and violent, who led this fight, became the 
Democratic nominee for governor after a fierce factional fight. 
The election was held under the new and little-understood law, 
framed by Goebel and passed over Bradley's veto. Much dis- 
order prevailed, and the militia was called out in Louisville. The 
Republican nominee, Taylor, a man easy to influence, was barely 
elected; and Goebel contested the election. Taylor called out a 
disorderly militia. Goebel was shot from ambush in Frankfort, 
and Taylor adjourned the legislature to London; but the Demo- 
cratic majority of both Houses refused to follow, declared Goebel 
elected, and J. C. W. Beckham, lieutenant-governor, succeeded 
him. Taylor, Secretary Powers, and Auditor Finley were indicted 
for murder, but fled to Indianapolis. Powers, from whose oflSce 
the murder was done, was tried repeatedly without result; and 
finally Governor Willson pardoned them all. Henry W. Youtsey, 
however, was convicted and is now^ in the penitentiary. 

Beckham, Willson, McCreary and the Promise of To-day. — 
In 1899, Beckham was reelected governor, and his administration 
secured a State Railway Commission, extension of the school term 
from five to six months, two state normal schools, larger support 
of the state university, and extensive social reforms, such as local 
restriction of the liquor traffic. One of the marks of the present 
century has been the drift of the population to the mountains for 
mining and to the cities. In 1907, Beckham won in the primaries 
for senator over the aged and popular J. B. McCreary; and the 
McCreary followers repeated the trick of 1895 ^^'i^h the result 
that Willson and Bradley, Republicans, were elected governor 
and senator respectively. Under Willson, the normal schools 
and the university were enlarged; the county school system, with 
Judge J. A. Sullivan as author, replaced the old district system; 



30 



KENTUCKY HISTORY 



county high schools appeared; and much local taxation for schools 
was levied. Besides, the prison system was reorganized, the 
juvenile court established, child labor laws passed, the new capitol 
was built, and the temperance forces led by Beckham made great 
gains. The "night riders" of the tobacco pools, together with 
increased expenditures for the capitol and for schools, helped the 
Democratic reaction of 191 1; and McCreary was again elected 
governor. Under him the state text-book commission was ap- 
pointed, moonlight schools under Mrs. Cora Wilson Stewart 
sprang up, and temperance made immense gains; but little con- 
structive legislation has been passed on account of the inflexible 
constitution. With such progress in all lines for the last quarter 
century, we may look to Kentucky's future full of optimism and 
assurance that we have just entered upon a great century. 



